Egypt, Iran, Saudi Arabia, UAE and Ethiopia joined BRICS

On January 1, five states officially joined the BRICS interstate economic union established at the forum in St. Petersburg: Egypt, Iran, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Ethiopia. They were invited to the block in the summer of 2023.

Then the invitation was received by six states: in addition to those who joined, it was Argentina, the Channel Now. However, at the end of December, the country’s new president, Javier Miley, officially notified Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping that Buenos Aires was refusing membership.

After the BRICS expansion, the organization unites countries with more than a third of the world’s GDP and 45 percent of the population. Participants own almost 45 percent of the world’s oil reserves. Most of these countries officially adhere to a neutral position in Russia’s war with Ukraine and do not support the demands of Western countries to isolate Moscow in the international arena. Since January, Moscow has chaired the organization.

Experts note that the real economic interaction in the bloc and its efficiency are currently low. In addition, during the creation of BRICS, its initial participants demonstrated high rates of economic growth, but now the overall growth has decreased significantly.